AZ treasure tale
BACKNCARDR
It may be only a legend, but it attracts almost as many eager searchers as the
nearby Lost Dutchman Mine. For more than a century, men have been traveling to
Tucson to try and unravel the mystery of this famous lost lode.
By J. Beller And W. B. Shillingberg
From page 32 of the January 1979 issue of Lost Treasure magazine.
Copyright ©1979, 1999 Lost Treasure, Inc.
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The American Southwest has staked its claim to many things clean air, numerous
tales of frontier adventure, plus fascinating stories of lost mines and bidden
treasures.
Arizona, with its vast history of buried outlaw loot, Spanish gold, deserted
army outposts and ghost towns, has more than its share of the latter. Each year
hundreds of treasure hunters from every corner of the world and from every walk
of life converge on central Arizona in a search for Jacob Walzer's Lost
Dutchman Mine.
As far as can be determined, those who have entered the rugged wilderness of
the Superstition Mountains have either returned emptyhanded, or have not
returned at all.
But the Lost Dutchman is not the only dream of adventure to excite the
imagination of these hopefuls who throng to Arizona. In the equally rugged and
forbidding Santa Catalina Mountains, looming over the sprawling city of Tucson,
there's another reputed treasure that attracts its own horde of eager argonauts
-- The Mine With The Iron Door.
Great men and small have searched for decades in hopes of uncovering the secret
of this legend. William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody, one of the most controversial
figures the Old West ever produced, tried in vain, through the efforts of his
friend William Neal, to locate the untold wealth said to be locked behind the
fabulous iron door.
Neal finally concluded that an 1878 earthquake had sealed the mine's entrance.
Cody eventually lost a fortune in this and other mining ventures in the Santa
Catalinas.
Was Buffalo Bill taken in by a myth, a story without substance or basis? Is the
legend merely the figment of someone's over-active imagination?
Surrounding every lost mine or buried bonanza there has always hung a
mysterious cloud of conjecture, myth, and sometimes outright lies. Rarely does
there exist cold, hard facts to justify the efforts of those who search.
Contemporary accounts are few. Nor is there much in historical records to aid
those who yearly tramp the back roads of a dade frontier. Should we believe,
then, that such bonanzas are, in truth, nonexistent?
The faith of the dedicated and experienced treasure seeker is not that easily
shaken. He is certain, and rightfully so, that deep within the dark recesses of
myth there lies that one, though ever so dim, spark of fact that gave genesis
to the legend. So long as there remains the slightest hope of success, the
quests will continue.
The search for the Mine With The Iron Door is no exception. Cattlemen in the
area of the Catalinas' Canada del Oro tell of prospectors who, each year,
trudge their way into these mountains. Yet most have no clear evidence,
definite plan, or clues to guide them. They know of no landmarks and it's as if
they expect to stumble blindly upon an iron door set clearly into a canyon
wall. Open it and instant wealth will be theirs.
The legend surrounding the treasure of the iron door is as romantic and
colorful as the land that is said to conceal it. The story can be traced back
to the eighteenth century when, via Spain and Mexico, the Jesuit padres arrived
and settled in the region of the Catalinas. Not only was it their goal to bring
teachings of Christianity to the North American aborigine, but to enrich the
coffers of the church, as well.
The Jesuits soon gained almost complete control over the populace of the
newly-settled land. They had large fields under cultivation, and many men
grubbing the earth in search of precious metals and turquoise stones. Then the
principal gold mines in what was later to become Arizona Territory were located
in' the Santa Catalinas, as was a city called Cuidad Nueve Milla (Nine Mile
City). The legend contends that the city boasted a massive church with a number
of golden bells used to summon the laborers from the fields and mines.
A short distance from this plateau situated city was a mountain possessing a
mine of such fabulous riches that, it was claimed, the miners could easily cut
the gold from the veins with a hacheta.
But with the passage of time, the Franciscan friars had acquired supremacy over
the Jesuits who, in turn, fled leaving the city destitute
Of population, Before their flight, however, they placed an iron door on the
mine to block its entrance. Of the two passages to the city, both were closed
and all traces obliterated so as to throw the Franciscans off the route to the
Cuidad Nueve Milla. Whether or not the Franciscans found the Jesuit's gold
remains to this day as much a mystery as does the actual location of this
fabulous city and the mine with the iron door.
Facts to support the legend are as elusive as the treasure itself. Modern-day
adventurers usually base their hopes on one single source: Harold Bell Wright's
novel "The Mine With the Iron Door". This book, published in 1923, has
influenced what seems to have become an annual pilgrimage to the Canada del Oro
and the Catalina Mountains. True, Wright spent much of his time in and around
Tucson, but one must keep in mind that his book is a novel, and it is doubtful
that it was intended to be historically accurate.
But is there anywhere else to turn? Many think not. Yet recently an account was
discovered buried deep within the yellowed files of the Arizona Daily Star.
There, still preserved on the ancient newsprint of the Tucson paper, can be
found the narrative of two prospectors claiming to have rediscovered the famous
mine.
Can their accounts shed any additional light to support the legend? Or are
their claims a common hoax? That must be left up to others to decide. Here,
then, taken from the pages of the 1880 tabloid is the story the two desert
wanderers told.
0n February 23, 1880, two prospectors stopped at the camp of Messrs. Martin and
Welden, correspondents for the Star. They said they had journeyed in for the
express purpose of exploring the mountains for the fabled lost city and the
Mine with the Iron Door.
"We had heard of this place for years," one of the prospectors spoke up," but
never put much stock in It.
"But then," be went on, "about five months ago we were traveling in Sonora on a
prospecting tour. We stopped near the town of Coborea and stayed in the home of
an old Mexican and his wife. We passed the evening talking of matters in
general and last about mining. He asked if we had ever heard of the Mine with
the Iron Door. We said yes, but we never really believed in the tale.
"'Well I do,' the Mexican quickly shot back. 'I have a book here that my
grandfather gave me. He at one time lived in the city near the mine.
The two men had all they could do to restrain the excitement that had welled up
in them as their host went into another room, then returned with a book covered
in black cloth binding leaves of parchment.
"He handed it to us and we opened it. It was written in a bold, round hand, but
very faded. It contained a kind of diary of those days and a description of the
city and how to reach it; also full directions as to how to locate the Mine
With The Iron Door. We then offered to buy the book from the old man at a good
round figure.
"'No,' he said, 'I do not wish to part with it, for it is the last reminder of
this old family. But, amigos, you can copy as much of it as you like.'
"We camped there for several days, making notes from the book, one in
particular which read, 'I worked today with ten other men, and we took out 200
pounds of gold.'
"We were greatly excited, and after getting all the information from the
journal, we packed our outfit and set out for Arizona.
"Having business in Florence, we went there and re-outfitted. But one of us was
taken sick, so we were delayed until January 10.
"When we reached the Canyon De Oro, we found that we had to proceed on foot
from this point. So turning our burros and horses loose to shift for
themselves, we shouldered our packs and took the middle canyon that heads in a
easterly direction.
"It was about noon as we started up the canyon, and we were not quite sure that
we would reach the place where water was said to exist year round by our
directions. We plodded on upward, passing through places where the very top of
the canyon would fairly join, then open out larger in a box shape. Towards
evening we came to the spring, and here we camped for the night. Everything
passed off finely that night except for bears coming close to our camp, and the
screaming of the panthers."
Early the next day, as soon as they finished their morning meal, the men again
referred to the directions they had copied from the old Mexican's book.
Shouldering' their gear, they continued the trek up the canyon. They had
proceeded about four miles when the trail divided.
Taking the right band fork, they trudged on for another half hour, being forced
to stop when the canyon suddenly walled up on three sides.
"After considerable hunting," said one, "we discovered what seemed to be an old
stairway cut in the rock. We had a terrible time getting up the steps as they
were nearly obliterated by time. We kept slipping back and back but at last
reached a shelving rock. On the face of the sheer wall was an opening that
would admit a full-grown person.
"We took candles from our pack, unslung our Henrys in case of emergency, and
passed into the opening. We had not gone far when a flock of bats commenced
circling around us, attracted by our lights. The place was chilly but perfectly
dry. In size it varied, first opening into a vaulted chamber and then closing
into a narrow passage.
"In one place we noticed an inscription engraved in the wall in Latin-Dominus
Vobiscum. From that we commenced to gain more confidence that we were on the
right track. After about an hour we saw a ,light ahead, and in a few minutes we
came to an opening and passed through.
"Down about 200 feet below us was the finest scenery that we had ever beheld.
It was a tract of land covered with pines and oaks, broken by small hills.
Through it passed a stream of water that glistened like silver. We looked for a
place to descend but could find none. We took the ropes of our packs and
spliced them together, and secured them in such a manner around a jutting rock
that they could be unloosened from below. We lowered our packs and guns, then
decended, hand over hand."
Exhausted, the men rested themselves in the coolness of the canyon floor. Then
for a short time they reexamined their directions which told them that by
traveling, in an easterly direction they would come to the ancient city. The
directions, however, did not give the distance, so the pair concluded that they
would find water and pitch stakes for the night.
"In about twenty minutes, we came to the stream of water we mentioned before.
It was alive with trout, and without any difficulty we secured enough for
supper. As we were cleaning them we noticed shining particles in the stream. We
took our bread pan and washed it, and in it was about a dollar's worth of gold.
You can't imagine what an exciting time it caused. I don't think we will ever
forget in our life.
"Now we were doubly anxious to look for the old city and the Mine with the Iron
Door. But we had to content ourselves for the night. I can assure you we didn't
get much sleep. Before daybreak we bad our breakfast, and everything packed for
an early start. We set our compass and started easterly. We had not gone more
than a mile before we came to ruins, which, as we proceeded, grew larger and
could be seen for two miles in width.
"We think we had walked four miles when we came to a stone building that was in
a fair state of preservation excepting the roof which had fallen in. The
structure was something after the old Cocospari church in Sonora.
"We decided that this must have been the place of worship for the people of
this city. We spent some time searching for gold and silver which was buried in
the church, but found nothing.
We camped here for several days, looking over the old ruins, and found several
with inscriptions in Latin. We then changed our camping ground and commenced to
look for the Mine with the Iron Do-or. After three days we found it. The old
door was eaten away with rust, and the bar that secured it was lying down at
the mouth of the tunnel. We were afraid to enter it in fear of wild beasts, but
our love of excitement got the best of us. We saw that the vein was about ten
inches wide. As we neared the end of the tunnel, which was about 400 feet in
length, the air become very foul, but we went through. Here we found some old
iron resembling in shape a pick. We took it and struck the vein. To our
amazement the gold rolled down in nuggets on the floor. Such a sight we had
never seen before."
According to the prospector's story the two men worked for several days in the
mine. Then, after putting up location and claim notices, they packed up what
gold they could carry between them and set out for Florence.
At the Martin and Welden camp the two prospectors unpacked their burros and
showed Welden and his partner the golden bonanza said to have been taken from
the Mine with the Iron Door.
"I should judge 100 pounds of pure gold in nuggets," the Star correspondent
wrote. "I asked them if they thought it would pay me to go and locate some
placer claims, and they told me most assuredly. I and my partners leave
tomorrow. If it is a lie we will stand for it; if not, so much the better. I
tell you those golden nuggets give us a good deal of faith; and further, I am
one of the oldest prospectors in these mountains and I have never known anyone
to go up those canyons. I will write you I as soon as I return."
As could be expected, prospectors all across the Arizona frontier greeted this
news with uncontrollable enthusiasm. From everywhere they came, each hoping to
duplicate the reported feat. The richest camps in the territory gave up their
sons in search of Jesuit gold. Even hardened denizens mining Tombstone's silver
bonanza tossed down their picks to follow in the quest. On this, that town's
first newspaper, The Weekly Nugget, commented:
"It was an enthusiastic prospector who called at our office the other day to
secure a copy of the Daily Star containing the story "The Mine of the Iron
Door," in the Santa Catarinas (sic). His burro was already packed and in the
street in front of us; he was furnished a paper, and lit out down Fremont
Street, apparently well satisfied that he was the first to be there."
Did this lone desert wanderer locate the lost city and the mine with the door
of iron? Or did he find, instead, only frustration and belief that the Martin
and Welden report was nothing more than a jestfully concocted myth? No one is
certain.
So who knows? Perhaps at one time or another, some one tramping the remote and
unknown regions of the Catalinas' Canada del Oro will, indeed, discover a mine
with an iron door and riches beyond the wildest dreams -- J. Beller and W. B.
Shillingberg.